History of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month

Written by Tara Tainton

Saturday, 09 June 2007 23:00

June is definitely a month to celebrate, commemorating a cause and still remaining need that we can all get behind regardless of our sexual preferences, experiences, and relationships. June, as declared on June 2nd, 2000, is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.

We're all sexually active adults here (unless a few of you under-18-year-olds snuck past my age verification page for some sex ed and free discussion), and that means we've all experienced different levels of control, limitations, etc. of our own personal and sexual freedoms. This world still attempts to put a lid on our desires, control our sexual paths in our personal lives, and dictate what our own experiences, relationships, and even needs should be. We can all understand why there's a need to show our support for gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and transgender rights.

We know why there laws regarding sex. There are underage and nonconsenting humans to protect. But those necessary protections have never had anything to do with a person's right to exercise, live, think, relate, etc. a non-heterosexual lifestyle. The world's not black and white, none of us as an individual is so simple, and our laws shouldn't be that black and white either.

This is a gray world, actually a multi-colored, hued, toned, and shaded world. What a great place it is!

Kathy Belge writes a great summary and history-making impact of the Stonewall Riots on About.com in "History of Gay and Lesbian Pride." She explains, "The history of Gay Pride Celebrations began in 1969 in Greenwich Village, New York City at the Stonewall Inn. At the time, it was common all over the United States for police to raid gay and lesbian bars. While they were purportedly looking for liquor law or other violations, patrons were arrested and dragged off to jail with no legitimate charges. The names of those arrested were often published in the papers and many of those people were fired from their jobs as a result."

It was clearly time for change, just as it still is now. On June 27th, 1969, the victimized fought back. The resulting Stonewall Rebellion ignited powerful, positive change. Belge summarizes, "Ever since, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people celebrate pride and call for basic civil rights by commemorating Stonewall. In New York City they march on the last Saturday in June. Across the US and all over the world, gays and lesbians remember the brave men and women of Stonewall every June in Gay Pride celebrations."

It was then-US-President Clinton who declared June national Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 2000. And today, I first set eyes on that same official proclamation, courtesy of another link on About.com posted by Robert Longley and titled "Clinton Declares June 2000 Gay & Lesbian Pride Month." Clinton's statement is powerful and its contents still hold true today.

Clinton's proclamation reads in part, "Gay and lesbian Americans have made important and lasting contributions to our Nation in every field of endeavor. Too often, however, gays and lesbians face prejudice and discrimination; too many have had to hide or deny their sexual orientation in order to keep their jobs or to live safely in their communities.

In recent years, we have made some progress righting these wrongs. Since the Stonewall uprising in New York City more than 30 years ago, the gay and lesbian rights movement has united gays and lesbians, their families and friends, and all those committed to justice and equality in a crusade to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices and to protect gays and lesbians from prejudice and persecution...

Yet many challenges still lie before us. As we have learned from recent tragedies, prejudice against gays and lesbians can still erupt into acts of hatred and violence. I continue to call upon the Congress to pass meaningful hate crimes legislation to strengthen the Department of Justice's ability to prosecute hate crimes committed due to the victim's sexual orientation.

With each passing year the American people become more receptive to diversity and more open to those who are different from themselves. Our Nation is at last realizing that gays and lesbians must no longer be "strangers among friends," as the civil rights pioneer David Mixner once noted. Rather, we must finally recognize these Americans for what they are: our colleagues and neighbors, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, friends and partners.

This June, recognizing the joys and sorrows that the gay and lesbian movement has witnessed and the work that remains to be done, we observe Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and celebrate the progress we have made in creating a society more inclusive and accepting of gays and lesbians. I hope that in this new millennium we will continue to break down the walls of fear and prejudice and work to build a bridge to understanding and tolerance, until gays and lesbians are afforded the same rights and responsibilities as all Americans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2000 as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity and recognize the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our national life..."

This is why we celebrate Gay and Lesbian Pride Month each June.